Twins general manager Terry Ryan put an end to any speculation about Jose Berrios’ status on Wednesday.

The highly touted starter won’t receive a call-up to the majors this season.

“Once the (Triple-A) season concludes, he’s going to go home,” Ryan said. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, since I came back from (Rochester). … He’s had a fine year. I do not want to take the risk of him possibly getting hurt or anything.”

Ryan said Berrios — a first-round pick by Minnesota in the 2012 draft — is going to finish around 165 innings, which is about how many the Twins wanted him to throw this season. Berrios has pitched 161 1/3 innings with one final projected start looming.

“We’re all sensitive to the innings stuff,” Ryan said. “There’s no question it’s a factor.

Ryan said Berrios’ size — he is listed at 6 feet, 185 pounds — made a difference.

“It’s not like this is a 6-4, 200 pounder,” Ryan said. “I’m a little concerned about making sure that we don’t do any damage when he’s built up a pretty good resume as of late. All that other stuff that’s been talked about and written about is secondary, but he’s got a good future. If he was at 120 innings, it’d be a different story.”

Berrios, 21, has made 26 starts this season, 15 at Double-A Chattanooga and 11 at Triple-A Rochester. His combined earned-run average is 2.90, with 170 strikeouts. Opposing batters have hit just .216 against him.

Ryan said Berrios has all the pitches and has demonstrated all the things Ryan was looking for him to do. But Ryan also said it’s a developmental project with Berrios, and the goal was to have him ready for 2016.

Berrios might have contributed to the Twins’ pitching staff in September as they make a playoff push, but Ryan didn’t allow that to sway his decision.

“The fact of the matter,” Ryan added, “is I think it’s the right thing to do for the kid.”

Ryan said Berrios also won’t be pitching in winter ball. Berrios didn’t throw during the previous winter ball season, either.

SANO HAS STRAIN

Miguel Sano was blunt when asked how his right hamstring felt after Tuesday night’s game.

“Bad,” he said.

Ryan said an MRI on Wednesday revealed Sano had a mild strain.

“Which is OK,” Ryan said. “We think he can play on it. We hope it doesn’t get any worse than that.”

Twins manager Paul Molitor gave Sano the day off on Aug. 28 as Minnesota beat Houston, but that’s all the rest Sano has been afforded.

“Which maybe, maybe not was enough for him,” Molitor said, “but when you look at his at-bats, there’s walks, there’s strikeouts, there’s home runs, and every once in a while he’s going to have to do something on the bases, but I just hope he keeps making good decisions and finds a way to stay in the lineup.”

The Twins can’t afford to have Sano miss many games coming down the stretch as they compete for a wild card slot.

Molitor said the hope is Sano’s hamstring improves, but he admitted that might not happen when he’s playing every day. If the hamstring stays in its current state, Sano won’t be pushing it on the base paths.

And he likely won’t be playing any third base, either. Ryan said it might be riskier to have Sano playing at third than having him run the bases.

That’s fine by Molitor.

“I’m still going to take the at-bats,” Molitor said. “If that’s all we’re going to get out of him on the bases, we’ll take it to get his swings in.”

Sano showed the contrast in his first two at-bats Wednesday. He hit a solo home run in the second inning, then slowly jogged to first in the fourth as he grounded into a double play.

Jace has covered a slew of sports since he joined the Pioneer Press in May 2015, but his primary duty is covering high schools. Jace enjoys the beat, even though he's been mistaken for a student on multiple occasions.

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